Air driven muscle toning garment

ABSTRACT

An air driven muscle toning garment including a suit of lightweight, breathable, moderately elastic material that covers the body from just above the knees to just below the neckline and along the arms to the wrists. Low-elasticity supports are integrated into the suit at several places so that attachmnents can be secured to the suit at key points; these attachments are connected in pairs by pull-through air bladders, which when pressurized pull the pairs of points toward each other, and resist the muscles which oppose the points that are pulled together by the pull-through air bladder mechanisms.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Provisional application #60/270576 filed on Feb. 23, 2001.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[0002] Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

[0003] Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0004] This invention relates to equipment to be worn by the user toprovide a constant, near-uniform level of resistance to muscle movementsfor the purpose of toning the muscles.

[0005] As a result of the desire for easier, more convenient ways to getin shape and stay in shape, many products have been designed andmanufactured to attain the perfect workout. With each new device comes anew workout routine and duration for that routine, with the promisemaximum results for minimum effort. A major problem with every exercisemachine is that people are required to take time out of every day to usesuch machines, making it easy to get out of a daily use routine if evenas little as one day is missed. Another problem with exercise machinesis users are generally not willing to spend the time using machines ifresults are not relatively immediate, or if results are not commensuratewith the effort expended. Also, there are many people who do not havethe time or opportunity to participate in exercise activity due to theirschedules and/or job demands.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] This invention is directed to a garment that provides constant,near -uniform resistance to voluntary motions of various body parts. Theobject of the invention is to furnish the user with a comfortablegarment which can be worn under normal clothing and which providesphysical exercise to muscle groups while in motion or in set postures,at user-defined amounts of resistance.

[0007] The air driven muscle toning garment comprises a breathable suitmade of flexible material, of moderate elasticity, with integratedsupports. The supports are to be located at pairs of points, which whenconnected resist opposing body movements (such as bending the arm). Airbladders, with cable supports on one end and a cable attached to apull-through plunger leading from the opposite end, are the resistancetools to be attached to the pairs of supports. These air bladders,secured to the supports, pull the supports together and resist theopposing body motion. This keeps the opposing muscles taut, toning themover a period of use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0008]FIG. 1 is a frontal plan view of the air driven muscle toninggarment.

[0009]FIG. 2 is a rear plan view of the air driven muscle toninggarment.

[0010]FIG. 3 is a side plan view of the air driven muscle toninggarment.

[0011]FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the side of the pull-throughair bladder, without fasteners and attachment cords shown.

[0012]FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the leading end of thepull-through air bladder.

[0013]FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of the trailing end of thepull-through air bladder.

[0014]FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of one of the flat faces of thepull-through air bladder.

[0015]FIG. 8 is an sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Referring to FIG. 1, the air driven muscle toning garment,indicated generally at 23, comprises a suit, made of lightweight andbreathable material, divided into two parts. The bottom part of the suitis a pair of shorts which extend from the top of the knees to the waist,with adjustable straps 7 and 7A integrated at the base of the thighs andadjustable straps 6 and 6A integrated just below the buttocks and groin;these straps encircle the legs and provide a means of holding the shortsdown in a set position. This serves to keep a support belt 5, whichencircles the waist, held in a set position. Attachments 10B and 10C arelocated on the belt at each hip, and attachments 14B and 14C are locateda few inches apart at the base of the back (one on each side of thespine) as shown in FIG. 2. The procedure for donning the shorts is oflittle consequence (pull-on, zip-up front, etc.) as long as theaforementioned features are present.

[0017] The top portion of the suit is shaped like a long-sleevedT-shirt; it has integrated supports, to provide key attachment points,which include: adjustable straps 1 and 1A at the shoulders; adjustablestraps 4 and 4A at the wrists; adjustable straps 3 and 3A around thearms just above the elbows; a support 2 which encircles the ribcage justbelow the chest muscles and covers most of the skin area above this,ending at the shoulders and just below the neckline (much in the shapeof a sports-bra); and as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of straps 20 and 20Awhich are attached to the upper-body support 2 at the back of theshoulders, and which run from the back of the shoulders to a pointapproximately ¾ the distance to the elbow down the back of the arm;supports 20 and 20A have looped ends through which the adjustable straps3 and 3A run.

[0018] The “shirt” can be of pullover type, or with a zipper/button-upfront; neither option affects the functionality of the suit. The entirepurpose of the “shirt” is to hold the working components of the top partof the suit in place for ease of wear. All supports (including the belt5 and adjustable straps 6, 6A, 7, 7A) are made of low elasticity,non-rigid material (preferably man-made); they can be integrated intothe suit by whatever means the manufacturer chooses.

[0019] Referring to FIGS. 4-8, the air driven muscle toning garmentemploys the use of air bladders 28, essentially flask-shaped, with ahole in each of the ends. The hole in one end has a greater diameter,through which runs a plunger 29; from herein this will be known as the“trailing end” (FIG. 5). The other end of the bladder has a much smallerhole through which runs a lead cable 30; this will be known as the“leading end” (FIG. 6). The air bladder 28 is airtight, with the plunger29 and leading cable 30 being matched in size and shape to theirrespective holes in the bladder in order to seal the bladder. Thecomposition of the bladder 28 should be a lightweight, rigid material;or optionally may be made of flexible and non-elastic material, so longas the bladder has a set shape and maximum volume when pressurized. Theholes of the bladder 28 are accomplished through the use of rigidtunnels 31 and 32, permanently attached to bladder 28, having round oroval holes passing through them lengthwise and centered on theirdiameter, the inside surface of each hole being smooth enough to providean air-tight fit with the plunger 29 or cable 30 passing through it. Theplunger 29 is a round or oval cylinder made of a rigid material; flatdisks 35 and 43, of greater diameter than the plunger 29, are attachedto the flat ends of it. The disks 35 and 43 provide an end-of-travelpoint in either direction through the trailing end hole of the bladder.The lead cable 30 is also a cylinder, longer than the plunger 29, with acable 46 passing through its center along the length of the lead cable(to prevent lengthwise stretching), which attaches to the plunger 29inside the bladder 28 at the center of the plunger's end. The lead cable30 is made of semi-rigid material, allowing it to bend, and passesthrough the hole at the leading end of the bladder 28. The bladder 28has located on it a one-way valve 33, through which air is pumped toprovide positive internal air pressure, and a pressure release valve 34;placement of the valves is unimportant. From herein the air bladder 28,with its plunger 29, lead cable 30, and valves 33 and 34 will becollectively known as the “pull-through air bladder” 45.

[0020] The pull-through air bladder is attached to the rest of thegarment by flexible, non-elastic cords. Two cords 36 and 36A lead fromeyelets 40 and 40A, located on either side of the plunger 29 on thetrailing end of the bladder 28, ending at a single fastener 37. One cord38 leads from the exposed end of the lead cable 30, also ending in afastener 39.

[0021] When the pull-through air bladder is pressurized, the plunger 29is pushed out of the air bladder 28 in direction 41 by virtue of thefact that the plunger 29 takes up more volume inside the bladder 28 thandoes the lead cable 30, effectively pulling the lead cable 30 into thebladder 28. The sum effect of this action is that the fastener ends ofthe attachment cords are pulled closer together.

[0022] The pull-through air bladder is secured to pairs of attachmentrings located on the outside of the suit, said rings being attached tothe integrated supports of the suit at points illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.Referring to FIG. 2, a pull-through air bladder 17 is secured to theattachment rings 15 and 15A on the shoulder supports 1 and 1A of theair-driven muscle toning garment; when pressurized, the pull-through airbladder 17 pulls the shoulders together. This causes the user to flexhis/her chest muscles, with an amount of force equal to that exerted bythe pull-through air bladder 17, to pull the shoulders forward.

[0023] A pair of pull-through air bladders 18 and 18A are attachedbetween the attachments 14 and 14A at the top of the back and theattachments 14B and 14C at the bottom of the back on the support belt 5.These mechanisms span the entire back vertically and in parallel; whenpressurized, the pull-through air bladders 18 and 18A pull the top ofthe back down toward the buttocks in direction 27, causing the stomachmuscles to tighten and pull the upper body in direction 26.

[0024] Pull-through air bladders 12 and 12A are attached between theattachments 10 and 10A under the armpits and the attachments 10B and 10Con the belt 5 at the hips. Using pull-through air bladder 12 as anexample, when pressurized it pulls the shoulder down toward the hip indirection 22A. This causes the muscles on the opposite side from thepull-through air bladder to tighten in order to pull the body back tothe upright position in direction 22. This air bladder configuration canonly be used on one side of the body at a time, otherwise both sidesbeing used at the same time would cancel each other.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, pull-through air bladders 11 and 11A areattached between attachments 9 and 9A on supports 3 and 3A at the baseof the biceps and attachments 9B and 9C on the palm side of the wristsupports 4 and 4A. When pressurized the wrists are pulled toward thebiceps (FIG. 3)in direction 24, causing the triceps to flex in order tostraighten the arm in direction 25.

[0026] Referring to FIG. 2, pull-through air bladders 19 and 19A areattached between attachments 16 and 16A at the ends of supports 20 and20A and attachments 16B and 16C on supports 4 and 4A; in thisconfiguration the trailing ends of the pull-through air bladders 19 and19A must be situated toward the elbows, with their attachment cords 36and 36A passing through runs 21/21A, and 21B/21C (the pairs of runs arepart of padded supports 13 and 13A that encircle the elbows; thesesupports hold the attachment cords in set paths around the points of theelbows). When pressurized the pull-through air bladders 19 and 19A pullthe arms straight in direction 25, causing the biceps muscles to flex,pulling the arms in direction 24 to a bent position. The biceps flexingand triceps flexing configurations of pull-through air bladder use maynot be employed at the same time on the same arm, or they becomeself-canceling.

[0027] The air driven muscle toning garment is designed so that any orall of the pull-through air bladder configurations may be used at onetime, except where they cancel each other. The size and shape of the airbladder 28, the length of the plunger 29, the ratio of plunger 29 tolead cable 30 diameter, the length of attachment cords, and the airpressure used are all variable to the needs and size of the user. Thetype of fasteners and attachments used is unimportant so long as thelocation of the attachments and fasteners remains the same. The valves(33 and 34) used can be of whatever type the manufacturer decides aslong as their function remains the same. The methods for donning thegarment, both for the “shirt” and “shorts” portions of it, can be ofwhatever means are deemed most efficient so long as the functionality ofthe supports is not compromised. Any person skilled in the art canstipulate the materials used to fabricate the garment and all othercomponents of the invention. Any person skilled in the art can vary thelocation, shape and size of the supports. The aforementioned variationsdo not change the required components of the invention, nor theprinciples on which they work.

I claim:
 1. A garment used to tone muscles of the body comprising: atwo-part garment having a long-sleeved, form-fitting shirt portion and aform-fitting waist-down pants portion. Said portions of the garmenthaving integrated, low-elasticity supports that provide stableattachment points for resistance devices; the integrated supports beingpositioned so that when two supports are pulled toward each other by acontracting resistance device, a motion of the body is counteractedcausing the opposed muscles to do more work than was previously requiredto accomplish the opposed motion.
 2. The garment of claim
 1. wherein:low-elasticity supports are integrated into the garment, encircling thebody parts where attachments for the resistance devices are desired,providing stable and permanent locations for the resistance devices tobe attached.
 3. The garment of claim
 1. wherein: the garment is made ofmoderately elastic material so that the garment itself does not restrictmovement; the purpose of the garment shirt is to hold the integratedsupports in their respective positions until the garment is worn. Thepurpose of the garment shorts is to hold down the support whichencircles the waist, providing stable attachments on the shorts portion.4. The garment of claim
 1. wherein: low-elasticity supports areintegrated into the garment at locations such as the elbow, havingtunnel-like channels located where attachment cables from the resistancedevices are desired to travel around a joint.
 5. A contracting,air-driven resistance device comprising: an essentially flask-shapedbladder having a cylinder-shaped plunger (not necessarily round) passingthrough a tunnel-like hole in one end of the bladder and a cylindershaped lead cable longer than the plunger passing through a tunnel-likehole at the other end of the bladder, with the lead cable and plungerboth being matched in size and shape to their respective holes in thebladder to provide airtight fit when lubricated. The plunger has disksof larger diameter and of the same shape as the ends of the plungerattached to the flat ends of the plunger to provide an end-of-travelpoint in either direction of travel through its hole in the bladder. Thelead cable is attached to the center of the plunger end inside thebladder. A one-way valve is located on the bladder to enablepressurization, and a release valve is located on the bladder fordepressurization. An attachment cable is attached to the external end ofthe lead cable and a pair of attachment cables are attached to eyeletson the bladder on either side of the plunger—this pair of cables ends ina single attachment. The resistance device contracts when pressurized byvirtue of the fact that the plunger takes up more space inside thebladder; the plunger is pushed out of the bladder, in turn pulling thelead cable into the bladder and pulling the ends of the attachmentcables toward each other and pulling the supports they are attached totoward each other.
 6. The resistance device of claim
 5. wherein: thebladder has a fixed maximum volume when pressurized.
 7. The resistancedevice of claim
 5. wherein: the lead cable is made of flexible materialand has a cable passing through the center of it that will not stretchlengthwise, and is also fixed to the end of the plunger along with thelead cable.
 8. The resistance device of claim
 5. wherein: the lead cableand plunger are lubricated to aid in making the resistance deviceairtight and also to provide smooth, efficient movement of thelubricated parts.
 9. The resistance device of claim
 5. wherein: theplunger is of greater diameter than the lead cable, causing the plungerto be pushed out of the bladder when the bladder is pressurized. Thegreater the diameter (cross-sectional area) size ratio between theplunger and the lead cable, the higher the rate of compression insidethe bladder. The lesser the size ratio, the lower the rate ofcompression inside the bladder, causing the resistance mechanism as awhole to have a more even amount of resistance during use.